1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a video image recording apparatus for recording video image data output from a digital video camera and the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
When a conventional digital video camera records captured video images and audio as digital data, it records the data on a magnetic tape such as a DV tape and the like. When data is edited, the digital video camera is connected to a personal computer via an IEEE 1394 serial bus to transfer video image data from a magnetic tape to an editing device. When data is transferred, it is necessary to subject a magnetic tape to reproduction process. For example, when video image and audio data is recorded for 60 minutes on the magnetic tape, reproduction is performed for 60 minutes to transfer video image data to the personal computer.
To shorten the above-mentioned data transfer time, the system described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2002-232821 is proposed. According to the system described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2002-232821, a digital video camera is connected to an external recording device via an IEEE 1394 serial bus, and the video image and audio data being picked up by the digital video camera is recorded on a recording medium that can be accessed at random directly by the external recording device. In the above-mentioned system, an editing operation using a recording medium that can be accessed at random can be started immediately after the photographing can be started. If the external recording device is a personal computer, the editing operation can be more quickly started. In addition, according to the system, the video image and audio data can be simultaneously recorded on both the magnetic tape in the digital video camera and the recording medium of the external recording device.
The system described in the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2002-232821 has the following problem.
For example, when video images and audio being recorded on the magnetic tape of the digital video camera are encoded in the MPEG-2 encoding method and the like and recorded on the magnetic tape, it is necessary to make an adjustment such that a discontinuous joint portion cannot occur between the video images and audio already recorded on the magnetic tape and the video images and audio to be recorded on the magnetic tape. For example, an adjustment is made to record a predetermined number of tracks of dummy data or null data between the video images and audio already recorded on the magnetic tape and the video images and audio to be recorded now on the magnetic tape. With this adjustment, there is no recording the video images and audio on the magnetic tape from a halfway position of the video images and audio already recorded on the magnetic tape, thereby preventing the recorded video images and audio from being discontinuously connected.
However, it may happen that some digital video cameras stop an encoding process for the MPEG-2 while the dummy data or the null data are recorded on the magnetic tape. The digital video cameras therefore cannot output video image and audio data therefrom to an external recording device because an encoding process stops until the process of recording the dummy data or the null data on the magnetic tape is completed. At this time, if the video image and audio data being picked up during photographing are recorded in a predetermined file format by the external recording device (for example, a personal computer), then video image and audio data are not output from the digital video camera. Therefore, there occurs the problem that discontinuity of the video image and audio data recorded on the recording medium (hard disk and the like) of the external recording device happens in a file.
In this case, since the video image and audio data output from the digital video camera to the external recording device ends halfway, there occurs the problem that the time stamps in the file are also discontinuous.